Lately I’ve felt incredibly blessed and so aware that God is good. More than a decade ago, I first heard a song that really put things into perspective for me: If everything good in my life were to end today, it still wouldn’t change Who God is and how He’s already blessed me. Here is a portion of the lyrics:
“If I never get to see another rainbow,
Or share another laugh with a friend.
If I never stand barefoot by the ocean,
Or get to kiss my child goodnight again.
If I never have another prayer that’s answered,
Or have another blessing come my way.
If this is all I know of heaven’s kindness,
Father, I would still have to say:
You have been good!
You have been good!
And I am in wonder – how could it be?
You have been good!
You’ve been so good!
So many ways You’ve been good to me.”
In the throes of grieving, it is easy to lose sight of the countless accounts of how God worked prior to, during, and after my son’s illness and death. In recent weeks a few people have reminded me of this by sharing stories of how Tyler impacted their life spiritually or in other ways.
A co-worker told me that through Tyler’s journey, her husband was able to let go of a decade of anger over losing his father. Another friend recently shared that his cousin found a personal relationship with Christ due to Ty’s story of hope and faith. Someone who attended Tyler’s funeral service told me the love she saw expressed there motivated her to start bringing her own children to church. One of Tyler’s school friends described to me how her weekly sessions with Tyler in the hospital discussing life and death forever changed her. She recently returned from 18 days in Uganda and relayed how Tyler’s story even had an impact there.
I could go on and on and on, and still would be limited to the accounts I’ve actually heard.
I’ve been feeling more and more compelled to ensure these stories of faith and hope and change can be recorded and shared, so not only Tyler’s own experience continues to have an impact, but the experience of others’ now-changed lives can also have a wider expression to encourage even more people. CaringBridge is not the venue for this since it’s not set up for an interactive purpose.
In fact, after Tyler died, some friends decided to purchase a URL in Tyler’s honor to be used to somehow perpetuate the amazing movement of God that had started and gathered momentum during Tyler’s illness. Up until recently we’ve not been able to step outside our grief enough to actually get down to the business of designing and launching the website. Once it’s ready, however, I will post the link to the site. Hopefully with the nearly 4,000 registrants here, plus word of mouth, the blessings of a good God working through a boy’s suffering can reach countless others.